"It's my favourite race," emphasised the winner at the finish. Mathieu van der Poel won the cyclo-cross race in Koksijde for the fifth time in his career. The world champion loves the trudge through the sand on the Belgian North Sea coast. He triumphed in Koksijde on 21 December in his third World Cup race in a row - after a successful comeback in Namur (14 December) and victory in Antwerp (20 December) the day before. After his unsuccessful performance at the Mountain Bike World Championships in Switzerland (he finished 29th), the 30-year-old Dutchman ended his season prematurely and took a break - he only returned to the World Cup series in mid-December and has been stringing together one victory after another ever since. At the moment, it is hard to imagine that the professional from Team Alpecin-Deceuninck (which will be called Alpecin-Premier Tech from the turn of the year) will not win his eighth elite cyclocross world title on 1 February 2026 in Hulst, Netherlands. This would make him the sole record world champion. He is currently level with the Belgian Roger de Vlaeminck with seven titles. It could be his last world championship, as the serial winner and current best cyclo-cross specialist has now revealed to the media. "I've always said that it would be very nice if I could finish with the record in my home country," said van der Poel according to the Belgian website HLN.be. There wouldn't be much left for him in cross. There was no talk of retiring from road cycling and mountain biking.
Tight race programme towards defending the World Championship title
But the road there will be exhausting. On the way to defending his title, the son of former world cross champion Adrie van der Poel will allow himself few breaks. He will be racing on 22, 26 and 29 December in the old year, and a lavish New Year's Eve celebration seems out of the question, as he will be racing again on 1 and 2 January. After that, World Cup starts are planned in Zonhoven (4 January), Maasmechelen (24 January) and Hoogerheide (25 January).
Andreas Kublik
Editor
